In case you missed it, International Open Data Day was greeted across Canada with events and hackathons - even a little speed dating between local developers and government officials, including Treasury Board President Tony Clement.

Minister Clement is one of the federal government’s chief advocates for open data and is leading an initiative to help the Government of Canada put more of its data to broad, public use.

Enter the Government of Canada’s Open Data portal, found at www.data.gc.ca. By several accounts, Canada’s Open Data portal is set for a reboot this year, with new tools and capabilities being added to satisfy innovator’s requests and drive greater use of a wider variety of government datasets.

With developers eagerly anticipating what new data may be available, some questions still remain around how to make the portal as accessible and useful as possible, what can be learned from the best practices of other countries using open data, and what kind of opportunities open data can create for Canadian communities and policy makers.

For an in-depth discussion on open data, join us this Friday at 11 AM (ET) as we host a Hangout on Air with Minister Clement and a panel of Canadian and international experts and entrepreneurs.

This post is part of a special series exploring the challenges and opportunities Canadian innovators face in today’s global marketplace.Sometimes innovation strikes when you're just hanging out.Just over a year ago, professional photographer John Butterill of Lindsay, Ontario was talking shop with a bunch of photographers over a Hangout. John realized he could connect his DSLR camera to his smartphone, and decided to give the other folks on the Hangout a brief virtual tour of his backyard as seen through the lens of his camera. That's when John had a bit of an epiphany. By using Google+ Hangouts he could offer people with mobility issues the opportunity to virtually leave their beds and wheelchairs, to get out in nature and to take photos like they were right there.With this inventive approach to using Google+ Hangouts, Virtual Photo Walks were started. Over the past year, John has worked with photographers around the world and has touched the lives of hundreds of people thanks to his innovative and generous spirit.Posted by Aaron Brindle, Google Canada

This post is part of a special series exploring the challenges and opportunities Canadian innovators face in today’s global marketplace.As of yesterday, Justin Bieber has more twitter followers than Canada has people!Justin Bieber, who turns 19 years-old this Friday, is the original YouTube success story, and one of the biggest innovators in recent entertainment history.The Stratford, Ontario native was the first major music discovery on YouTube and his success provided the template for millions of YouTube users seeking to emulate his meteoric rise from anonymity to global star. For the entertainment industry, Bieber's career trajectory validated an entirely new business model, where the barriers to entry were leveled like never before. Last year Justin Bieber was honoured with a Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award, which celebrates successful disruptive innovation. Justin Bieber showed the world you could become a household name if you had a webcam, talent... and, let's face it, some great hair.

Fun Bieber facts

Justin Bieber is the most searched Canadian in Google's history.

Justin Bieber's Baby is the second most popular video of all time on YouTube with over 830 million views (Gangnam Style is the only video with more views).

Justin Bieber’s channel has racked up three-and-a-half billion views, making it YouTube’s most popular.

Despite his Canadian roots, Justin Bieber is truly a global phenomenon. Canada doesn't appear in even the top 10 countries searching for Justin Bieber.

Have you ever caught a bus only because it has been able to track its route on your smartphone? Ever wondered if you could get an app to help you avoid traffic jams caused by new road construction, or make more accurate farming decisions by changing weather patterns over time?

Developers around the world are designing incredible apps on top of information created and collected by government sources, including information on transit, transportation and the environment. There are reams of data in areas ranging from public health to agriculture, but only recently have governments begun to grapple with the many ways it might be put to use by enterprising developers, businesses, NGOs and other organizations.

This Friday, March 1stat 11:00 AM EST, you can be a part of the conversation on how Canada can make the most of open data by joining a hangout on air with the Honourable Tony Clement, President of the Treasury Board of Canada and Member of Parliament for Parry Sound-Muskoka, as he leads the redesign of the Government of Canada’s Open Data portal.

Hon. Tony Clement, President of the Treasury Board of Canada

Joining Minister Clement will be a panel of experts, entrepreneurs and developers discussing global approaches to open data, how open government initiatives can support access to data, and how innovation through open data can be a major opportunity for Canada’s economy. Panellists include:

Ashley Casovan, Strategic Coordinator for the Chief Information Officer, City of Edmonton

Welcome to a special week-long feature examining Canada's innovation potentialFrom insulin to the goalie mask, Canadian innovations have a history of being true game changers. This week Google Canada is putting a spotlight on the next generation of innovation happening in this country and looking at the challenges and opportunities Canadian innovators face in today’s global marketplace.The series will profile how artists, entertainers, businesses and government are using technology to reshape business models, create new markets and improve people’s lives.

Part 1: Canada's Cutting Edge CampusAnd we’re kicking off the series with a look at academia, and how universities can foster innovation on Canadian campuses. The following is an exclusive University Affairs Q&A with Steven Woods, Google Canada's Director of Engineering.Enjoy the series and make sure to let us know what you think!The Google Canada Team

The company’s engineering director likes to recruit people with broad experience – and if you’re an alumnus of the University of Waterloo, that certainly won’t hurt.by Rosanna TamburriSteven Woods, engineering director at Google Canada, has deep roots in academia as well as the technology sector. Following undergraduate studies at the University of Saskatchewan, he completed a master’s and a PhD in computer science and mathematics at the University of Waterloo, graduating in 1995. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Hawaii and spent time at the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.Dr. Woods is also as entrepreneur. His first company, Quack.com, was founded in 1998. He later sold it to America Online (the terms weren’t disclosed). In 2002, he founded NeoEdge Networks. Along the way he moved to California’s Silicon Valley, and in 2008 was hired by Google to return to Canada and oversee its engineering operations in Kitchener, Ontario. The office, which employs 200 people, is Google’s largest engineering office in Canada. It is located in a sprawling office complex that is quickly becoming a major high-tech hub, just a short distance from the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University. Dr. Woods, who is 47, spoke to University Affairs about Google’s relationship with Canadian universities, what universities can do to foster innovation, and what qualities the search engine giant looks for in new recruits.University Affairs: Is it a challenge to recruit employees?Dr. Woods: In my opinion we have the best work environment, the best salary, the best benefits and the best projects. We have a lot of pluses in our favour so we do pretty well on recruiting. Can we find all the people we want in the time we want? Probably not. There are some skill sets in the area that are harder to find than others. The University of Waterloo is obviously a very strong attractor of top engineering and computer science students from the world over so we do well as a result of that. That's one of the reasons we're here [and] this has been a very productive place for hiring for us.University Affairs: Which fields do you mainly recruit from?Dr. Woods: It is largely computer science, software engineering-style programs. We also hire people from programs like systems design engineering. More recently we have been hiring mechanical engineers, electrical engineers in some of the newer projects we've started to work on. We're always looking for multidisciplinary skill sets. We like to have [product managers] with some business background, often MBAs. We like people who have either started a company or have been involved in startup companies prior to coming to us. The best product managers at Google often have multiple backgrounds in humanities and in a technology area. We have acquired some companies in the last few years here in Canada. Quite often one of the attractors for these … is the talent they tend to attract. Often the founders have experience in user interface, in delivering consumer experiences, in building businesses and understanding what that means as well as a very technical background.University Affairs: Are you seeing more women enter the field?Dr. Woods: This is one of our major goals – the last thing we want is a monoculture. My personal opinion [is] that we need to do more in the schools and I don't mean just in universities and colleges but well before that where we see unfortunate reductions in the number of women [going into] engineering and science programs and math. As a result, at Google we are very involved in the community. I have quite a few people working in high schools, in programs such as FIRST Lego League robotics, that bring a real sense of fun and engagement to engineering projects at a very young age. We have lots of evidence that suggests those types of programs and mentoring early really can help increase those numbers. My daughter is involved in one-- she's 15.University Affairs: In your current role, what sort of interaction do you have with the postsecondary sector?Dr. Woods: We spend a lot of time making people understand that if Canadians want to work for Google, they don't have to move to California, they can come work for us here. As a result, we have relationships of various kinds with most engineering and computer science programs across the country.With the University of Waterloo, when I came in 2008, I was here about one day before [former U of W president and now Governor General] David Johnston phoned me and said, “I want you to come in and talk to me about what Google is going to do for me.” (He laughs.) And that started a really great relationship. … We've done a lot of different things together, from symposiums, we’ve had sabbaticants in, we've spent time co-writing research proposals. We at Google have funded one major research grant at the University of Waterloo [$900,000 over three years to support research in context-aware mobile social networking] plus a number of smaller individual research awards. … We're trying to spend time with startups. We're trying to make sure we are available to them to talk about ideas or offer our advice or quite honestly take their advice about our products as well and find ways in which we can work together better.University Affairs: Have you ever worked with the universities or faculty members directly or students on R&D?Dr. Woods: Absolutely. We are an enormous supporter of the University of Waterloo and its co-op program. The University of Waterloo is one of Google's largest three or four recruiting universities year-over-year, along with MIT and Carnegie Mellon. This makes Waterloo a very important location for Google worldwide. I personally attribute much of the success of [their] graduates to the strength of their co-op program and the great mix of very strong academic emphasis, great training, great faculty with the opportunity students get to spend time in industry at many companies, whether in California or Seattle or in Canada. Again, credit to David Johnston. He was very focused on ensuring that students had a chance to work abroad as part of their education. He thought that was a core part of educating Canada's workforce for the next generation.University Affairs: Canada ranks near the bottom of the OECD in terms of the proportion of businesses that collaborate with universities on R&D. I've heard universities say many times that they are ready and willing to do so but companies just aren't stepping up. They don't seek out the help and expertise that is available to them at Canadian universities the way their U.S. counterparts do. What do you think could be done about this?Dr. Woods: In the world of science, engineering, mathematics – the world I live in – this university here and some other Canadian universities, the University of Toronto comes to mind, are very highly regarded. Kitchener-Waterloo for example is one of the top 10 worldwide areas for successful startup activity. Certainly Silicon Valley is the leader in all of these things, but I think we are starting to see that Kitchener-Waterloo is mentioned in the same breath as places like Boston or Seattle. So when it comes to name brands – the University of Waterloo, the University of British Columbia, the University of Toronto – I think you would see that smart organizations are very well aware of the talent, and I don't just mean of the students, I mean the faculty, and are very well aware of the value of joint research efforts. If one was to suggest what we could do better, I think there's a certain degree of responsibility on both parts [to improve how we] organize and project manage. What's the coordination point between a university and an organization like us? We both have to find ways to work together structurally day to day. There's a fair bit of overhead in organizing meetings and creating reports and summaries and presentations. It just takes time and effort. And both universities and corporations have a responsibility to find ways to create structures to make it possible.University Affairs: What else do you think that universities can do to foster innovation?Dr. Woods: I'm a big fan of intellectual property freedom. I think this attracts a very interesting, different kind of graduate student and faculty member. I seem to be pushing the University of Waterloo more than I need to, but they are a great example of this. Their researchers and in fact their grad students, of which I was one, are the sole owners of the intellectual property they produce. The university has no specific rights to it. They have the opportunity to provide you with supporting services if you wish in exchange for some of it but the reality is you can walk off campus and create a startup and many faculty members from the University of Waterloo have been heavily involved in startups. I myself at the end of my PhD worked for my supervisor's startup for a while on some work that we had jointly done. So I think this is a great thing. It spins out companies. It creates a dynamic interaction between faculty members and industry as they look for partnerships in the community. It attracts a very entrepreneurial type of student.As for other things, I think you can argue that lots of universities are trying incubators and spinoff organizations with varying degrees of success. … There's some successful companies in town, small and growing, that have come out of [the Velocity program at U of Waterloo] in just a few years. We recently acquired a company called BufferBox which actually was a company spun out of a fourth-year engineering project. Three fourth-year [students] in mechanical engineering had an idea about improving the way consumers receive packages. It is a really cool product. They managed to get it to market themselves. They went down to the U.S. to raise money … then they moved their company right back here. [At] a student symposium where they were presenting … I talked to them and left them my card, and sort of kept in touch and tracked their progress. We were fortunate enough to acquire them about a year and a half after they got their company going. But I think none of that would have happened without the open exchange between the university and the industry. Also, it wouldn't have happened if they weren't able to take that intellectual property and create a company.University Affairs: Companies also play an important role in mentoring young graduates. How does Google do this?Dr. Woods: We see a lot of co-op [students] every year both here and other Google sites around the world, and we encourage the graduates we see in an interview to go wherever they think they are interested in going, whether it's California or Zurich, to get a different experience and come back here later. One of the reasons we are looking for new ways to mentor is that not everyone wants to work for Google and that’s fantastic. We still want to be involved in the communities. This morning Mike McCauley, who is one of the founders of BufferBox, and I spent the morning looking at the new startups coming into town trying to get funded by the incubator next door. So the incubator [HYPERDRIVE, a division of Communitech] asked us to come down and listen to some of the pitches and give our input, so we spent about four hours of our time doing that. And in the coming weeks we will spend one-on-one time each of us with some of these startups talking about their idea and how it might go further.University Affairs: Are you finding that the graduates are well prepared when they come to you? Are universities training them well?Dr. Woods: We're a pretty picky company so we take the absolute best talent we can find. I would say Canada does very well in this regard. Students that come out with industry experience are more valuable to us as an approximate rule than those that don't. And students that come out with a broad perspective are more valuable to us than those who don't.University Affairs: Is there something they should be doing to prepare students differently given the technological and digital changes that we’re seeing?Dr. Woods: Breadth of experience … has been a big thing for us. It’s wonderful to have someone who has a strong math background and can write software – this is the core of what we do. But at the same time we need people who understand the way people think, the way people interact with one another, people who understand and design user interface and the psychology behind these things. Visual design matters a lot in the way consumer products are experienced. These are very important things to us. So people who have more than just one of these things are enormously valuable and I think they are enormously valuable for the country. …I spent some time in Vancouver a little while back going to some of their software design schools which are focused on game development. These are interesting places and they have a lot of people who think a lot about how people interact with digital objects and the way people interact with machines, so we had some really interesting conversations. We don't have as much of that skill set in Ontario and I think it's something Ontario could use. Wilfrid Laurier University produces strong business graduates and they are looking at a new program now in combined business and computer science [offered jointly] with the University of Waterloo. I think that will produce a whole generation of very interesting people with business backgrounds and software development backgrounds. And now [U of Waterloo] has started [a Stratford campus with a focus on digital media] which is more about the human side of this. It is really focused more on how people use and experience technology, and we recently brought on several interns from there … They've been just a wonderful set of younger, brilliant people from a slightly non-technology background but more from the humanities side of technology. I like the diversity, and this area happens to have a lot of it.

The controversial Zero Dark Thirty and the dark comedy Silver Linings Playbook did not crack the top five searches.Other front runners (according to Canadian Google searches):Lead Actor - Bradley CooperLead Actress - Jennifer LawrenceSupporting Actor - Christoph WaltzSupporting Actress - Anne HathawayDirector - Steven SpielbergI would like to thank the Academy and all those Googling Canadians out there who made this post possible. And my agent. Posted by Aaron Brindle, Google Canada

Canada loves the Oscars. On a per capita basis, searches for the Oscars in Canada even outpace the US. For those of you who can’t get enough of the Oscars or the Red Carpet, make sure to check out Google’s dedicated Oscar site, to see the latest search trends, red carpet sightings and to download your very own Oscar ballot.And the most-Googled winner is....Over the past 90 days, Canadian searches for Steven Spielberg’s historical drama, Lincoln and the musical epic Les Miserables have been neck-and-neck. However, heading into the awards ceremony on Sunday, searches for Ben Affleck’s Argo have jumped to the head of the pack.TOP 5 OSCAR NOMINATED MOVIES GOOGLED BY CANADIANSThe controversial Zero Dark Thirty and the dark comedy Silver Linings Playbook did not crack the top five searches.Other front runners (according to Canadian Google searches):Lead Actor - Bradley CooperLead Actress - Jennifer LawrenceSupporting Actor - Christoph WaltzSupporting Actress - Anne HathawayDirector - Steven SpielbergI would like to thank the Academy and all those Googling Canadians out there who made this post possible. And my agent. Posted by Aaron Brindle, Google Canada

Today we announced the recipients of the Google RISE (Roots in Science and Engineering) Awards, an initiative to promote and support Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) and Computer Science (CS) education initiatives. We grant awards to organizations working with K-12 and university students to provide access and enrichment programs in these fields.

This year Edmonton based, DiscoverE, is one of the 30 global recipients of the Google RISE Awards. DiscoverE is an initiative from the Engineering Faculty at the University of Alberta, that delivers high impact STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) camps, workshops and clubs for girls, minorities and Aboriginal communities.

Google believes that technology will continue to play an important role in shaping our future, and the youth of today will help innovate and drive these technologies for years to come. We hope that all students will one day have the chance to reach their potential and achieve great things in science. To that end, we aspire to help students take one step closer to achieving their potential by offering organizational growth and development opportunities through the Google RISE Awards.

Are you getting creative this Valentine's Day, or are you leaving things to the very last minute?

Every year, more and more Canadians are turning to the Internet to find Valentine's Day inspiration, whether it's for gift ideas or finding the perfect romantic restaurant. 'Bacon flowers', 'panda flowers' and 'blue roses' were some of the top trending creative Valentine's Day searches in Canada in 2012. And Atlantic Canada led the nation in the romance department, with the most Valentine's Day related searches...which is perhaps not surprising given the volume of searches for 'Fifty Shades of Grey' coming from the East Coast.

Here is our infographic looking at these and other trends from Valentine's Day in Canada:

Today Google announces 38 new run and lift maps for some of the most popular mountains across North America.

You just stepped out of the gondola into a strong wind at the peak. It’s cold and you’re weighing whether to drop into that powdery black diamond chute you’ve always dreamt of...or sliding down the nearest blue for hot cider at the base. Google Maps is now your “go to” mountain guide.Whether you’re shredding Big White or Big Sky, Google Maps offers a comprehensive, accurate and easy way to find the best route down the hill.

Power up Google Maps on your Android device or iPhone, and the mountain information you need is right there. Blue, green and black runs are shown as solid colored lines and ski lifts are red dotted lines. Click on the links to explore the maps of of these iconic Canadian winter resorts.

Ski resorts in Google Maps can also be helpful when you’re gearing up for a trip. You can check out the maps on your laptop browser to plot your course, and even get a Street View preview of a few select slopes before you head up the mountain.

Map of Squaw Valley near Lake Tahoe in California

The growing list of mountain maps now available in Google Maps is here:

We hope you’ll use these maps to discover new trails and find your way around the mountain more quickly and easily. We’ve got more ski resort maps on the way, so be sure to check Google Maps before your next trip. See you out there!

You won’t need magical powers to take a journey down the yellow brick road; just point your favorite browser to the latest Chrome Experiment, “Find Your Way to Oz”. Developed in collaboration with Disney and UNIT9 in anticipation of the upcoming film, Oz The Great and Powerful, this experiment takes you through a dusty Kansas circus and leads to a vibrant land, following in the footsteps of the Wizard himself.

Like any good circus, there’s plenty to keep you entertained: compose your own music, play with a fun photo booth and create your own movie with a zoetrope. The path to Oz also involves confronting an ominous tornado; surviving it completes the journey, enabling fans of the movie to watch an exclusive unreleased clip from the film.

Chrome Experiments like “Find Your Way to Oz” would have been impossible a few years ago. Since that time, the web has evolved and allowed developers and designers to create immersive beautiful experiences. For “Find Your Way to Oz” the 3D environment was built entirely with new technologies such as WebGL and CSS3. It’s enhanced by rich audio effects thanks to the Web Audio API. The photo booth and zoetrope were built using the getUserMedia feature of WebRTC, which grants webpages access to your computer’s camera and microphone (with your permission).

For the best experience, you’ll need to use an up-to-date computer built to handle intense graphics. It also works best with a webcam and a modern browser that supports WebGL and WebRTC, like Chrome. For tablet or smartphone users, we have a smaller scale yet equally enjoyable experience that you can try with the latest Chrome browser on your Android device, iPhone or iPad.

If you want to learn more, or run away and join the developer circus, you can get an explanation of the technologies used on the Chromium blog or in our technical case study.
Start your journey towards the yellow brick road at www.findyourwaytooz.com.

What a game! From an intense sibling rivalry, to a 34-minute long power outage, a few historic plays, and a battle that was contested down to the final seconds - not to mention the commercials - the Super Bowl provided much excitement both on and off the field. We took a look to see what fans across Canada were looking for online during the game, and given that we search more for Super Bowl commercials than any other country in the world, it’s not surprising that 3 of the top 5 searches were for some big game day spots.

Overall, the top trending searches on Google in Canada during the game were:

M&M's

Beyonce

Mercedes-Benz

Lincoln

Baltimore Ravens

Other noteworthy trending searches on Google include those about the power outage, which started trending mid-game and ended up ranking 11th out of the most-searched terms during game time in Canada. Searches for Beyonce spiked dramatically during her halftime show.

Canada’s Team? The Ravens. Canada’s Harbaugh? Jim

The Ravens eclipsed the 49ers both on the field and as the most-searched team during the game; however, Jim was the most-searched Harbaugh in Canada. The most-searched players of the game were Colin Kaepernick, Michael Oher, Joe Flacco, David Akers, and Randy Moss.

Game day commercials

While most of the big game day commercials are not broadcast in Canada, that didn’t stop Canadians from enjoying the much-ballyhooed ads online. The most searched for commercials on YouTube were ads from M&M’s, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Lincoln, and Disney's “Oz Great and Powerful”. Fans were seeking out commercials online throughout the game, driving searches for the big game’s ads on Google 93 times higher this Sunday than the same time last week.

This year many advertisers turned to YouTube to share game day ads and teaser videos in the weeks leading up to the game. In 2013, big game ads or ad teasers were watched more than 66 million times on YouTube worldwide before game day.